--- title: "Birthday Slideshow Songs – Ideas by Age | birthday.video" description: "Birthday slideshow songs for every age and person: upbeat, sentimental, kids, milestones and partners, plus which music you can actually put in a shared video." url: https://birthday.video/birthday-slideshow-songs --- Free · made on your device # Songs for a birthday slideshow Ideas for every kind of birthday video, from a first birthday to an 80th, and the honest bit about which music you can use when you post it. Free · no sign-up · no watermark Through the years Leo 40 Press play Forty years of you The best birthday slideshow song is one the birthday person already loves: the record they play in the kitchen, their wedding song, the anthem of their school years. Failing that, choose by mood: something bright for a party, something gentle for a slideshow of old photos, and one track around three minutes long for fifteen to thirty photos. The lists below are ideas, not downloads. To put a song under a video you need the file and, for anything you post publicly, the right to use it. The simplest way round that is a Happy Birthday tune: the arrangements in the editor’s **Add music** panel are free to use, and the [Happy Birthday song download](https://birthday.video/happy-birthday-song) page explains them. Start from one of these ## How to put a song under a birthday slideshow 1. ### Open a photo template Press **Make a slideshow with a tune** above; the editor opens on the photo templates with the music panel ready. 2. ### Choose the music In **Add music**, pick a Happy Birthday tune, or add a song file from your device such as an MP3 or M4A. 3. ### Add the photos Press **Add photos and clips** and choose them in order, oldest first. Type the **Name** and **Age** for the opening card. 4. ### Export Press **Export video**, then **Download video** or **Share**. ## Song ideas by occasion ### Upbeat, for a party screen * “Celebration”, Kool & the Gang * “Happy”, Pharrell Williams * “September”, Earth, Wind & Fire * “Dancing Queen”, ABBA * “Birthday”, The Beatles ### Sentimental, for a life in photos * “In My Life”, The Beatles * “What a Wonderful World”, Louis Armstrong * “Forever Young”, Rod Stewart * “Lovely Day”, Bill Withers ### For a first birthday or young children * “Here Comes the Sun”, The Beatles * “Three Little Birds”, Bob Marley & The Wailers * “Better Together”, Jack Johnson * “Count on Me”, Bruno Mars ### For a partner * “Just the Way You Are”, Bruno Mars * “Thinking Out Loud”, Ed Sheeran * “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, Elvis Presley ### For a parent’s milestone * “Isn’t She Lovely”, Stevie Wonder * “Father and Son”, Cat Stevens * A number one from the year they were born, or from the summer they turned eighteen ## Which music you can actually use A video sent privately to Grandma is one thing; a public post is another. Social networks scan uploads, and a commercial recording you don’t have rights to can get the video muted or blocked. Three safe choices: * **A Happy Birthday tune** from **Add music**: arrangements of a public-domain melody made for this site and free to use ([why it is public domain](https://birthday.video/is-happy-birthday-copyrighted)). * **The app’s own sound library**: post without music, then add a track inside Instagram or TikTok, which handles the licence for its library. * **Your own recording**: the family singing, a grandchild on the piano. Songs inside streaming apps such as Spotify or Apple Music are protected and can’t be added to a video file; **Add music** needs a song file saved on your device. ## Matching the song to the photos * **Length**: a three-minute song suits fifteen to thirty photos; a long life story may need two songs, or a [birthday video with photos and music](https://birthday.video/birthday-video-with-photos-and-music) that mixes clips in. * **Mood shift**: start gentle for baby photos, end on something brighter for the present day. * **End on a face**: finish the slideshow on a recent photo of everyone together as the song closes. ## Birthday slideshow songs: questions ### What is a good song for a birthday slideshow? Their favourite song, if you know it. Otherwise something upbeat like “Celebration” for a party, or something gentle like “In My Life” for a life in photos. ### Can I use a Spotify or Apple Music song? No. Streaming songs are protected and can’t be added to a video file. **Add music** takes song files saved on your device, or offers the site’s free Happy Birthday tunes. ### Will my slideshow be muted on Instagram? It can be if it uses a commercial recording. The Happy Birthday tunes are free to use; or post without music and add a track from the app’s library. ### How many photos for one song? About fifteen to thirty for a three-minute song, at a few seconds each. ### Can I use a recording of us singing? Yes. Record it on your phone, save the audio file, and add it with **Add music**. It is your own recording, so it is yours to share. ## More on music for birthday videos * [ Birthday video maker Start from an animated template, add their name, photos and a song. ](https://birthday.video/) * [ How to make a birthday video on your phone iPhone Photos and iMovie, Google Photos and Samsung Gallery, or a browser template. ](https://birthday.video/how-to-make-a-birthday-video) * [ Birthday slideshow Photos in order under a tune, opened by a card with their name. ](https://birthday.video/birthday-slideshow) * [ Free Happy Birthday song download Instrumental arrangements of the tune, free to download or put under a video. ](https://birthday.video/happy-birthday-song) * [ Is Happy Birthday copyrighted? Public domain since 2016 in the US and 2017 in the EU, and what that means for your video. ](https://birthday.video/is-happy-birthday-copyrighted) * [ Birthday video with photos and music Photos and clips mixed together under a tune or your own song. ](https://birthday.video/birthday-video-with-photos-and-music) * [ Happy 50th birthday wishes and videos Wishes for a 50th, a gold 50 GIF, and five decades of photos. ](https://birthday.video/happy-50th-birthday) * [ Birthday video templates Every template in the editor, by occasion, with the formats it suits. ](https://birthday.video/birthday-video-templates)